DETROIT — Detroit Red Wings assistant Paul MacLean has been hired to coach the Ottawa Senators.
The Senators fired coach Cory Clouston and two assistants in April after the team failed to qualify for the playoffs for the second time in three seasons.
MacLean has spent the past five years as an assistant in Detroit, helping the team win the championship in 2008. He and Red Wings coach Mike Babcock also worked together for two years in Anaheim, taking the Ducks to the Stanley Cup Finals.
• The NHL’s competition committee agreed with a recommendation to broaden the league’s definition of illegal hits to the head — the next step in expanding the scope of Rule 48, enacted last year to outlaw blindside head shots.
The NHL Players’ Association also will consider the change, and the league’s board of governors must approve any formal rule change next Tuesday.
Fickell clueless about violations
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Two weeks after Jim Tressel was forced to resign because of an improper benefits scandal at Ohio State, interim football coach Luke Fickell said he didn’t know of any NCAA rules violations.
“I wasn’t going to say that I had blinders on, but (I was) very focused on the task at hand,” Fickell said. “I was not informed of any information until it became public knowledge.”
Fickell spoke at an introductory news conference, during which he promised Buckeyes fans a team that would be about “respect, toughness and being men of action.”
Meanwhile, Christopher Cicero, an attorney whose e-mail tip to Tressel led to his resignation, is being investigated for legal misconduct by the Ohio Supreme Court. Sanctions against the former Buckeyes walk-on player could range from a public reprimand to permanently losing his law license.
Also, former Buckeyes quarterback Terrelle Pryor hired Drew Rosenhaus as his agent and has taken steps toward making himself available for an NFL supplemental draft.
• Oregon cornerback Cliff Harris, who set a school record with four punt returns for touchdowns last season as a sophomore, was cited for driving 118 mph on a suspended license Sunday morning south of Albany, Ore.
“Once we have finished collecting all the information in this situation, we will determine the appropriate action,” coach Chip Kelly said.
• The Fiesta Bowl has turned to University of Arizona president Robert Shelton to replace former CEO and president John Junker, who was fired after an internal investigation uncovered apparently illegal campaign contributions by staff and lavish spending by him on parties and a night at a strip club.
Footnotes.
Five months after a hip injury forced her to retire against Andrea Petkovic after one game of their third-round match at the Australian Open, Venus Williams beat the German 7-5, 5-7, 6-3 in Eastbourne, England, in her first match back to successfully open her Wimbledon preparations.
• Kyle Busch was docked six points and his crew chief fined $25,000 because his car failed post- race inspection Sunday at Pocono Raceway.
